Friday, December 28, 2007
Souls Remain
Music Countdown 2007 continues...
#4 - Suzanne Vega - "Beauty and Crime"
Sound: Beautiful, intimate folk, folk-rock, and folk-pop songs in the singer/songwriter mode; confessionals, slices of life, tableaus.
What’s So Special: Unexpected blast of quality from our past. 48 and nearly-forgotten, Vega’s concocted such a lovely collection of sincere, tuneful song gems. This lady, still in nursery school during folk’s first wave, relaunched the genre in the mid-80s, and scored a hit with ‘Luka,’ a song about child abuse that really stood out in a decade not known for grit. ‘My name is Luka – I live upstairs from you…’
Favorite Lyrics: 1) "And the wind kicks up in the smell of rain / now the kids are gone but their souls remain; " 2) "On the way to the bidet / is when the trouble used to start / It didn't mean she wasn't queen / of the tinderbox that was his heart..."
Fun Facts: 1) Vega is not Latino, but Scottish-German-Irish – Vega is her Puerto Rican stepfather’s name; she did, however, grow up in Spanish Harlem; 2) Her high school was the ‘Fame’ Peforming Arts school; 3) Vega is the ‘mother of the mp3’ as her other hit, the 1990 remix of ‘Tom’s Diner,’ was the song used in trials for that format; 4) In a film career attempt, she auditioned for the ‘Desperately Seeking Susan’ role that went to Madonna.
And here's the music:
Are all of us really Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner at heart? “Frank & Ava” is an alluring song and video. It’s another instant classic for Suzanne, and less than three minutes long:
“New York Is A Woman” – an interesting title and the lyrics and storyline do not disappoint – this is live and the sound is perfect:
'Luka,' for those who haven't seen/heard this heart-breaker in a while - or at all.
Cartoon du Jour:
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